The World Health Organization (WHO) is a United Nations agency governed by 194 Member States grouped into 6 regions. The WHO convenes emergency committees of experts when “an extraordinary event … is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response.” On 30 January 2020 the Director-General of WHO declared that the COVID-19 outbreak constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Mpox and Polio have also been declared Public Health Emergencies of International Concern.
“The results are clear: COVID-19 vaccination saves lives.”
– Dr. Margaux Meslé
The World Health Organization (WHO) European Region has published a study in Lancet confirming the importance of vaccinations in saving the lives of people infected with COVID-19.
From the time of their introduction in December 2020 through to March 2023, COVID-19 vaccines reduced deaths due to the pandemic by at least 59%, saving more than 1.6 million lives in the World Health Organization’s European Region.
Today’s known COVID-19 death toll in the Region, currently at 2.2 million, might have been as high as 4 million without the vaccines. Most of those saved were aged 60 or older, the group at highest risk of severe illness and death from SARS-CoV-2.
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The study’s author, Dr. Margaux Meslé from WHO/Europe, said, “The results are clear: COVID-19 vaccination saves lives. Our findings remind us of the integral role played by vaccines to ensure people return to a semblance of their pre-pandemic lives across the Region, in work and leisure. Without the enormous vaccination effort, we would have seen many more livelihoods disrupted and families losing the most vulnerable among them.”
Getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine remains an extremely effective tool to reduce both hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk individuals, which includes people who are older or immune-compromised, those with multiple underlying medical conditions, pregnant women, and health personnel who may be easily exposed.
Additionally, getting an updated COVID-19 vaccine also reduces your chances of developing long COVID.
If you have common COVID-19 symptoms – such as acute appearance of fever, cough, fatigue or shortness of breath – you may have a COVID-19 infection. You should take a COVID-19 test if one is available to confirm whether you are infected and to understand the level of risk for yourself and those around you.
In addition, if you are at high risk for a severe outcome from COVID-19, you may be eligible to receive antiviral medications. These have been shown to meaningfully reduce the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 in vulnerable people.
Current vaccines are effective in preventing severe disease and death among people infected with new variants, and studies are ongoing to ascertain the duration of protection given by booster doses.
Meslé concluded, “We urge high-risk individuals to remain alert and follow national COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.”
Upsurge of mpox in Africa 2024
On August 14, the WHO Director-General determined that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Based on available data, the virus has been spreading rapidly among adults through close physical contact. As the virus spreads further, the affected groups are changing, with the virus also taking hold within households and other settings. DR Congo is having an increasing number of cases and Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have each reported their first mpox cases. In Burundi, males account for 55.6% of the cases and females for 44.4%. Children under the age of five years make up 28.9% of the cases, followed by those aged from 11 to 20 years (20.4%), and those aged from 21 to 30 years (18.3%). Three vaccines are currently available for use to prevent mpox in different countries (MVA-BN, LC16-KMB, and OrthopoxVac – the latter not yet commercialized). WHO recommends use of MVA-BN or LC16 vaccines when the others are not available. Vaccination is recommended by WHO for individuals at high risk of exposure. Currently no deaths have been reported in the five above mentioned countries, however, there is the potential for increased health impact with wider spread among vulnerable groups such as children, immunocompromised individuals, including persons with uncontrolled HIV infection or advanced HIV disease, or pregnant women in whom mpox can be more severe. Health authorities and clinicians/health and care workers of all countries should be aware that the global mpox outbreak linked to clade IIb MPXV is ongoing in all WHO regions, and Clade I monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreaks are increasing in Central and East Africa, therefore, the risk of cross-border and international spread persists. According to sources, as of press time, refugees who were en route to the airport for resettlement in Canada and the U.S. from Burundi have been told resettlement has been suspended for 21 days.
Polio circulates in conflict zones
Cases of various forms of polio are on the rise, and the Emergency Committee, which has met every three months since 2014, when polio was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, unanimously agreed in April that the risk of international spread remains grave, and and recommended the extension of Temporary Recommendations for a further three months.
Polio is now present in a number of countries, with the most cases in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Pakistan. For these countries, the WHO advises that all residents and longterm visitors (> four weeks) of all ages, receive a dose of bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (bOPV) or inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) between four weeks and 12 months prior to international travel. Those undertaking urgent travel (within four weeks), who have not received a dose of bOPV or IPV in the previous four weeks to 12 months, are urged to receive a dose of polio vaccine at least by the time of departure as this will still provide benefit, particularly for frequent travelers.
The Committee warns that areas of conflict and protracted complex emergencies pose a growing risk, with populations in these areas particularly vulnerable to polio outbreaks. For example, cases of wild polio have increased in Afghanistan and spread to Pakistan with the movement of people. South Sudan is experiencing an outbreak of cVDPV2.
